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Finding Jesus in Psalm 2

 


Everything in Psalm 2 can apply to Jesus and his life. In the end, his kingdom will be victorious. Verses 1-6 are threats from the enemies to the kingdom of God. Then, in verses 7-9, we hear the promises made to Jesus. The poem ends with the advice to submit to him.

  1. Why does the world rage, and the people plan in vain?
  2. The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, 
  3. "Let us break their bonds apart, and cast their cords away."
  4. He who sits in the heavens will laugh; the LORD will have them in derision.
  5. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them with his fury.
  6. Yet I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion.
  7. I will announce the LORD's decision: He said, "You are my son. Today I have begotten you.
  8. Ask of me and I will give you the world for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth your possession.
  9. You will break them with a rod of iron; you will smash them in pieces like a potter's jar."
  10. So wise up, you kings; be warned, you judges.
  11. Serve the LORD with respect, and rejoice with trembling.
  12. Kiss the son unless he becomes angry, and you perish from the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who trust in him.
Verse 1: If we read this poem as applying to King David, we can translate this line as, "Why do the heathen rage . . ." Or we could replace the word "heathen" with Gentiles or nations. But if we're going to read this verse as applying to Jesus, "world" best conveys the idea that Jesus died for the sin of the world.

Verse 2: "The kings" are Herod and Pilate. Their power and political system is in conflict with Jesus' kingdom movement. Jesus' kingdom is not like the politics of this world. Jesus' message is counter-cultural. 

Verse 3: If we are going to follow Jesus, we have to pay attention to his words. Jesus invites us into a new way of life--a new way to be human. And the way to completely follow Jesus is by leaving behind the old worldly way of doing things and embrace the way of Jesus--a way that is gracious, generous, forgiving, and merciful.

Verse 4: When we say "Jesus is Lord," we are saying Jesus is king--not just of heaven, but of the whole world. In the end, everything will be subjected to him. In the end, everyone will bow before him.

Verse 6: Zion, metaphorically, can mean the church and all God's people.  Literally, Zion was a hill on the northern part of Jerusalem and there was a fort called "the city of David." Sometimes Zion is used to refer to the city of Jerusalem. The temple in Jerusalem was built on a hill. (Maybe this helps us with the phrase, "city on a hill.")

Verse 7: Doesn't this sound like what Jesus heard at his baptism? Also, this verse expresses the Jewish idea that the king is in a special relationship with God--God as Father and the king as a son.

Verse 8: The whole world is Jesus' inheritance because he is the Son of God and one day he will be Lord of all. 

Verse 9: Jesus weeps over the city of Jerusalem because they rejected his call for peace. A few years later, the city was destroyed by the Romans.

Verse 10: There's still time for us to embrace Jesus' teaching and his way of life.

Verse 11: Some translations use the word "fear" in this verse. But what that word is trying to express is a sense of the awesome and glorious majesty of God. We should rejoice at the grace we have received.

Verse 12: Kiss sounds strange, doesn't it? Among the eastern nations, it was a sign of subjection and adoration. If we're reading this poem as applying to Jesus, then the "son" is the Son of God. And if Jesus' way is the way of life--that means, if we are not following him then we are walking in the way of death and destruction. But if we do follow Jesus, we will find blessings.

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